The Justice Force: The Team Gets a Pet!
He knew he was different among those who could access the Red Light. Creatures who bore the rings were cursed with the endless rage created from vengeance. Great minds became perverse from the overwhelming desire of achieving their ultimate goal...revenge. Even after bathing in the acidic ocean of Ysmault, masters of the red ring still chased after the desire for vengeance. But what would happen to those who achieved it? He witnessed rings abandon their masters after they satiated their bloodlust. Without an object to fuel their anger, the ring searches for the next tormented soul like a forest fire without anything to burn. Fortunately, Ezekiel was different. He remembered taking out his would-be assassin, remembered it so clearly one would think it took place that morning. However, although it brought him satisfaction, his anger burned as bright as the sun. Ezekiel eventually gathered the courage to ask Hal Jordan for help in mastering this power. To which Hal answered with an offer to the Bahamas. "Humans tend to make the most troublesome of lanterns. But you're a different type of red kid," He remembered that night. Hal Jordan and Uproar sat upon a cruise, one which Hal offered to take Ezekiel on for a short vacation. "The right kind of red." Hal smiled. "Atrocitus whines and cries about his home world. Rather than use this amazing power to stop crime before its too late, he selfishly chases his own vengeance. But I've witnessed you shed tears for others. Your lack of strength during times when you've brought everything to the table and it still wasn't good enough has become your furnace." Hal Jordan sipped his mojito. "And when that's not enough, you open your heart to the injustice of the universe." Those words. It was as if Hal peered into his very soul and pulled out the truth. Even now, as Uproar stood on the balcony of his room and peered onto the nearby town, his crimson world shined with thousands of stars. Some brighter than others. Some fading and others flaring. He could see it. As bright as day in the darkest of nights. But it could never overwhelm him...and it definitely tried. But he knew anger was nothing more than just a sensation. Everything experiences anger. But choosing when to act was the epitome of emotional mastery. After all, he was quite the angry child. Ezekiel blinked. Without his usual cloak and armor constructs, the ebony man would look no different than others. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Today was definitely not the best...trading blows with a demigod wasn't the best of ideas. Every twitch felt like his muscles were screaming. But he felt alive. Oh did he feel alive! "I need a fucking shower." He groaned. Ezekiel stepped into the shower and turned on the water to scorching hot levels. He focused on retracting his suit so that he could feel the burning water against his skin. It felt good. So good he shivered. His eyes closed as he placed his forehead against the cold wall. I...hate...you Ezekiel's eyes shot open. He turned around but couldn't find the source of the plea. It felt stronger than the others. Different. Even through the curtains where the window lead to an endless sea, a bright light exploded. One which only he could see. Someone needed his help... Fighting a lantern, even for a young god, was tiring. Lanterns were no walk in the park. However, that didn’t stop Gabriel as he moved around his room in Mount Justice. He had just finished setting up his television and consoles and was now placing his games and books on a bookshelf. Finally, on top of the shelf, he place a series of pictures. One of him with his parents, another with Captain Marvel and the seven founding members of the Justice League after the invasion of Darkseid. He smiled as he looked at it but moved towards his bed. Plopping down on the bed, Gabriel began to nod off. As he did, he fell into a dream. He stood on a stone in the middle of an ocean as a large storm raged one. He heard a voice over the wind and thunder, or perhaps the wind and thunder was the voice. “An ancient species of mine has awakened. Assure it’s status, little god. Pantheon awoke with a start. He wasn’t sure who contacted him, but he had an idea. ---- A door slammed shut as Ryan trudged through his room and flopped down on his bed, exhausted from the events of that day. He let out a massive sigh, turing to look over his room. It was painted light blue and decorated with a mural of the Seattle skyline. The ceiling had little glow in the dark stars stuck to it in constellations. A large tv was hooked up to the wall with a couple game systems below it. To the left of that sat a large wardrobe that was flung open, clothes spilling out messily onto the floor around it. On the wall opposite to the foot of his bed was a massive bookshelf containing copious amounts of comic books and television shows. "Man we're all a bunch of weirdos I guess." He spoke to himself, reflecting on his day. He'd interacted with many of his new teammates, most of them being very eccentric. The real highlight of the day was a duel that almost broke the damn building down. He'd noticed in their first mission that Uproar and Pantheon were somewhat at each others throats. This time they'd finally tried to go at it. Thankfully, for the base, Ryan had been there to step in and stop the duel from progressing any further than it had. Keeping two from touching each other until they finally cooled off. Ezekiel immediately dried himself off and went towards the window. His ring automatically generating his signature outfit. Maybe I should call for help? Uproar thought. No. This is a lantern's duty. Involving them would only make me look even weaker. I'll just make sure to get back before the morning. Without hesitation, Uproar jumped from his window and flew off. A shining crimson light streaking across the sky. A Once Deserted Island An older gentleman, cloaked in a white tuxedo and swirling crimson wine in a pointed glass, peered over his lavish balcony. To think that this massive island cost less than several hundred million. A distant island from which he could watch Happy Harbor, a city which he hoped to run one day, it would serve as one of the Triad's marine bases. Equipped with a beautiful resort and several underwater laboratories. Protected, of course, by thick forest and dangerous wildlife combined with mercenaries paid fortunes by the hour. This old tyrant sipped his wine and smiled. Earlier today, his men managed to find the score of a lifetime. Something ancient sailers would spread rumors about. Tales of ships being capsized by gigantic tentacles. An ancient creature of Atlantis, the size of an island and uncontrollable by all except one! While, doing what he managed to accomplish today was easily seen as an act of war against the actual sea world, he doubted that anyone could make such a connection. The door behind him creaked open. From which a younger gentleman emerged. "Mr. Tsung! We've managed to successfully restrain the Kraken at our northwest base." He said. "Sha'll we commence with the plan?" "No. A kraken of that size will serve us in the future. But for now, it's nothing more than bait, used to lure our actual target to us." Tsung Shen answered. "Seems quite expensive for some bait." The young captain exclaimed. "There is only a handful of these magnificent beast in this world. But they possess enough power to rule the seas unhindered. We wouldn't stand a chance against a full grown Kraken. But as long as the baby is in our grasp, she'll come to us in a more calm manner." He sipped his wine once more. "In the mean time, shut off all communications and arm all our naval defenses. Just in case any Atlantean's discover us before our plans come to fruition. They shouldn't though, they're too busy looking for their king!" Uproar could hear it. Hear its cries of anger. Hatred. It unknowingly called out to his his heart-his ring-and wrapped around it with a tight grip. So tight, Uproar's burning blood almost ignited him from the inside. He approached the source of this anger, a massive island which, to his knowledge, had been deserted for several decades. Still, Uproar decided to approach this in a more stealthily manner. He gently landed behind several trees and leapt into a nearby bush at the sound of marching. He peaked through the branches and saw several camouflaged men with their guns pointed upwards. "This island hasn't been occupied since the 50's." Uproar thought. He noticed a weird symbol on their shoulder patch. Three triangles... "I might've stumbled onto something deadly." He bit his lip...his finger hovering over the team communicator. One push and everyone would know to rendezvous at his position. "No. I can handle this!" He cursed, placing the communicator back into his pocket. ---- First, I need to find the source of this rage. Gabriel rummaged through the kitchen, quickly scarfing down some food before heading out while reading a book on myths. He wasn't even sure he needed food in this form, but it was a simple comfort for him. After consuming the few food items, he came to the conclusion that the team needed to go on a shopping run to stock up un the mountain. "Several heroes in one place will need something to make up for all the energy we are gonna burn." Pantheon said to himself as he walked outside. With the power of the living lightning that was in the core of his being now, Gabriel's costume wrapped around him to show his status as Pantheon. He looked towards the sea and remembered his dream. While we wasn't sure before, he was confident now. The sea and storms, it must have been the great god Poseidon. What beast is he referring to though? Pantheon thought to himself as he flew towards the sea. "Poseidon's power isn't in me, Oceanus isn't Pontus, Susanoo, Njord, none of the sea gods granted me power. This will be... something to see." Pantheon said aloud as he sighed. ---- Ryan sighed aloud as he pushed himself up from his pillow glaring out the window at the ocean. "I can't believe that less than a month ago I was just living in Seattle, now I'm damn hero." He pointed his hand at the bookshelf, focusing as a book flew to his hand. "Moby Dick, huh. I think I'm getting better at this." He focused again, sending the book back to its place on the shelf. His eyes wandered back to the window, catching a glimpse of a figure briefly hovering in the air before shooting out to sea. "I'm pretty sure that was Pantheon. The hell is he doing." Ryan muttered, reaching the conclusion that he was probably going off to finish his duel with Uproar. They both seemed like the type to dislike unfinished business. "I should probably follow him huh." He nodded to himself and cracked open his window, grabbing a briefcase with his costume in it. He leapt from the window, propelling himself through the air and onto the water. He touched down, using his vectors to stand on sea. Then he propelled himself forwards, dashing in the direction of Pantheon. ---- Uproar's ring smarted. A familiar sensation as his body shared what Hal called a high capacity sympathetic frequency. He felt the anger of that mysterious beast on this island. And it burned. So much so, he wanted to set the entire place aflame. He managed to travel further inland without detection. Quickly dispatching these mysterious gun toting men with rapid strikes. His punches clean and sharp, a whiplike crack of his arm, a sure sign of one who boxed against some of the most fearsome aliens. He hid their bodies among the bushes. "Wo Shing Wo Triad." Uproar whispered. He'd managed to gather some of their belongings in his small escapades. He made sure to grab a couple of their identification cards. "Shocking that a bunch of smalltime gangsters would invest in timeshare properties." He chuckled. "What was that?!" A man shot around, aiming his gun towards a nearby tree. His partner stood several feet off with his own weapons drawn. "Gentlemen, gentlemen," Uproar started. He turned away from the tree and revealed himself in the moon light. A blood red shine emanating from the silver orb in the sky. "Going around, knocking you guys has gotten me nowhere. So I'm going to try a more...different approach." "Fire!" The partner screamed. Their fingers glued to the trigger, a rain of bullets fired at Uproar. His ring shined and a crimson shield emerged, deflecting the bullets. Several found themselves buried in their own legs. He shot his hand forward and the shield transformed into two bestial claws, wrapped tightly around their bodies. He slammed them against the trees and slowly approached them "I've been meaning to try this method out. Usually, I can only shift through the minds of the angered. A pretty useless power normally...unless I can make you mad!" "P-please child. Us Wo Shing Sho are followers of the Enlightened one. Our emotions are under control at all times." The common filth spat. "Even now, we fear nothing. Not even death!" "Would be troublesome if I was a Yellow Lantern." Uproar smirked. He spat drops of crimson liquid upon their foreheads, which slowly crept down their body. It branched off into a vein formation, seeping deep into their body. He watched as their eyes widened. Veins popped. He could feel their hearts increase rapidly. "Good. Good. We're all angry on the inside. Some of us just need a little spark to light the forest aflame." Uproar approached until his eyes were matched with theirs. His ring shined brighter as he entered a world of red. Shifting. Flashes of images. He wasn't quite the telepath. But an angry mind was simple to read through. Images. Even a child could understand this picture book. Yet the torrent of dreams found their source in anger. And such, he had to remain detached. "Cheating wife. Dead kids." Uproar recited plainly. "The usual." He squinted his eyes beneath his cowl. "There." Yes. Exactly the clue he needed. At the base of the mountain was a gigantic door. From which a tunnel extended deep within until reaching a giant shaft. A scream. Orders. The man returned to his post as a good pawn would. This was a grunt after all. Uproar smirked. At least now he knew where his target was. "I'd kill you...but that wouldn't be the heroic thing to do." The Red Lantern teased. "So, I'll let your allies decide how useful wild beast are." Uproar's construct vanished. Causing the two men to fall to their knees. Overwhelmed by madness. Shit...I might've used too much. As if that was a question! His eyes lowered and his shoulders sunk. A wave of sympathy washed over him as he felt it. "I see..." Uproar whispered. For the two men, once partners in crime, aimed their guns at one another and fired without hesitation. Uproar sighed at the gruesome scene. Without the residual anger from the telepathic link, the images he saw actually made sense. The guys dead children lead to his wife cheating...with his own partner. He'd long suspected it... That's the catch with anger. Every fit of rage. Every bit of that crimson elixir which leaves one feeling so alive possessed a piece of their soul instilled in it. But with great power comes a requirement for an even greater comprehension. Without it, it'd be a child wielding a torch among eucalyptus leaves. "What was that?!" Uproar turned around. A guard squadron approached. Quick thinking! He grabbed the bodies and dragged them into a nearby bush before running towards the mountain. This wasn't the time for philosophy. ---- As Pantheon landed on a distant island, he heard gunshots loud and clear in the distance with his enhanced hearing. Even without it, they rang out in the silent night sky. Fun, must be a welcoming party, Pantheon thought as he began to walk forward. He focused his eyes to look around perfectly in the darkness. He thought of the dream again. "Protect what beast, where is it? Damn Greek gods and their prophecies never being simple to follow." Pantheon said aloud to himself before signed. A gunshot rang nearby. Pantheon turned to react, but as he did the bullet crushed against his strong body. He looked at the simple gunman, with a group of three behind him, look confused over what just happened. "Hi, I know I'm not particularly famous, but I'm gonna let you in on something. The Big Man with the 'S' shield called me the 'Adamantine God', for reasons I think you just figured out." Pantheon sped towards the group at great speed. He used a series of four punches, one for each, charged with the power of his lightning. He held back broth his strength and voltage, but the taser-punch was enough to knock them out cold. They would stay that was for some time, with either other allies finding them, public tourists, or hopefully police. Based on their manner of dress, they seemed to be in some sort of group together. Pantheon looked at the night sky as he turned away from them. He was still confused on what the dream was telling him to do. Maybe it was just a meaningless dream and he left the comfort of his bed for nothing. No. That was unlikely. While he has dreamt of weird things before, he never had a violent awakening from a voice giving him commands. Where was he supposed to go? That's when Pantheon caught it. The light of the distant moon illuminated the sky enough to let Pantheon see that in some great distance, storm clouds were moving. They even seemed center and unmoving from their current position, a strange sight indeed. Pantheon remembered his dream once more. He stood on a rock in the middle of the sea with a storm brewing overhead. "Must be Poseidon's calling card." Pantheon began to run forth towards the direction of the storm and unknowingly into a larger enemy territory. ---- Three gunmen strode across the sand of shore chatting with each other about the latest football game. As they spoke about who made the best field goal and agued over who was a better quarterback, shots were heard in the air. The three spun around, turing towards the inner island in shock and removing their weapons from their sides. They tapped their earpieces but the radio was silent. Just then a strong gust of air startled them and they spun around to face a cloud of sand. As it cleared a man was revealed, dressed in pajamas and holding a black briefcase. "Hey what's up have you guys seen like someone who looks umm, like a boy scout I guess. That's what Uproar call him anyways." Ryan asked rather casually before quickly noting their weapons. As they raised their guns towards him he held his hands out in protest. "Hey wait come on lets not do this right now. I don't even know you people. I'm just looking for my friends." His words were to no avail and they opened fire. The hail of bullets stopped just short of Ryan, hovering in the air. "I'm assuming you've all seen The Matrix right. Yeah I'm basically Neo from that." The bullets fell from the air clattering to the floor as Ryan lurched forwards. His vector enhanced knee connected with one of the men's stomachs, sending him flying into the ground. As their comrade writhed in pain on the sand the others pointed their weapons back at Ryan but he was too quick. A briefcase hit the first one square in the jaw, knocking him out cold. The second one opened fire but Ryan was already too close to be hit. His hand connected with the mans face as he slammed him into the ground headfirst. "So are you guys gangsters or what? Start talking right now okay. I wanna know why you all have weapons and are so keen on shooting an unarmed dude. "We are Wo Shing Wo, followers of the great.." He was cut off by Ryan slamming his head down into the sand. "Save it. I've heard of your pathetic gang. I used to fight your kind when you worked under Crimson King. Then with his fall you guys finally tried to slink back into Seattle's criminal spotlight once he was out of the way. Didn't do you much good with the quakes did it." His voice was much darker, reminiscent of his time in the streets. "I've fought your kind before and I don't appreciate the existence of you or the organization you belong to." Ryan pressed harder on the man's head, pushing him further into the sand. "But the fact that you worked with him, that is what draws the line." The man's head was forced under the sand as it hardened around him. The other two were swiftly dispatched by Ryan's hands as well. He opened the briefcase and his suit popped out. He wrapped it around his form, and Ryan became Cain. He'd originally just come here to follow Pantheon but if this happened to be some sort of base, he'd snuff them out. "I suppose the gunshot will lead me to Pantheon, might as well figure out why he's here huh." Cain remarked before dashing through the foliage. ---- Cain emerged from the brush in a clearing to see a red shape move by him. Wait Red? "Uproar is that you? The hell are you doing here?" Cain spoke, holding his hands in confusion. Uproar couldn't risk the potential trouble. He reacted without a second's hesitation. Wrapping his fingers onto Cain's mouth and slamming his teammate against a tree. The darkness of the trees above hid the two from the oncoming foot patrol. Once out of the distance, he let Cain fall to the ground. If not for the bandages and his cowl, Cain would see Uproar's ebony face twisted in a growl. "Why'd you follow me?!" He whispered violently. Perhaps the most violent whisper the world has ever heard. "How the-" "Fire!" In Uproar's anger, he'd forgotten that he was a Red Lantern partaking in a stealth mission. His rage shining brightly off of his suit must've caught the patrol's attention. He quickly faced their attacker and shot his hand forward. Knives of crimson light piercing their temples before dissipating. He never cared for killing but always held a special hatred for drug lords and other criminals who profited off the suffering of others. With them gone, he turned to Cain. "I swear to god, it's like you're a puppy. Who else is here dammit?!" "So I'm not alone here, I see. Yo Cain. Uproar." Pantheon said as he walked up. He looked down at the bodies of the drug lords. "I'm not particularly phased by the killing of an enemy, but I can't imagine Martian Manhunter will be particularly pleased. What are you both doing here?" However, Pantheon turned his gaze back towards the storm. "What is going on there, why does it matter?" Pantheon mumbled softly to himself. As he looked back towards his allies, a lone gunman stood with his gun pointed towards the lantern and the metahuman. Not wanting to test the resilience of either of the two superpowered humans by an unexpected bullet, Pantheon sent out a blast of lightning to knock out the gunner. "They are like cockroaches. I can't see or hear anymore, so let's figure out what we are all here for." Category:Fanon Canon Category:Roleplays